First Lincoln Center Fashion Week Features Over 90 Designers

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 11 August 2010 18:20

Written by T. T. Maloney

From September 9th-16th, 2010, thousands of fashion industry professionals will gather to see over 90 of the world's most established and up-and-coming designers present their collections for Spring 2011 at the first Lincoln Center Fashion Week.

IMG Fashion has unveiled the initial line up of shows from these designers for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's first season in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park.

"We are tremendously excited about our new home at Lincoln Center and overwhelmed by the response of so many designers who will be showing with us as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week this season," Said SVP and Managing Director of IMG Fashion Peter Levy, "The opportunity to facilitate such a large number of shows and events within the new footprint of the event bodes very well for the new location."   

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will present the following designers:

• Nicholas K
• Project Runway
• Toni Maticevski
• Richard Chai
• Ruffian
• Christian Siriano
• Bensoni
• Farah Angsana
• VERRIER
• Concept Korea
• Richie Rich
• Tadashi Shoji
• BCBGMAXAZRIA
• Duckie Brown
• Michael Angel
• Buckler
• EDITION Georges Chakra
• Ports 1961
• Alexander Berardi
• Academy of Art University
• Lacoste
• Binetti
• Cynthia Rowley
• Prabal Gurung
• ADAM
• Yoana Baraschi
• Mik Cire
• Charlotte Ronson
• Z Spoke by Zac Posen
• Venexiana
• Derek Lam
• Timo Weiland
• Lela Rose
• DKNY
• Rebecca Taylor
• Rebecca Minkoff
• Hervé Léger by Max Azria
• Diane von Furstenberg
• Trias
• Global Glam Collection
• Custo Barcelona
• Tommy Hilfiger
• Vassilios Kostetsos
• William Tempest
• Jenny Packham
• Carolina Herrera
• Carlos Miele
• Diesel Black Gold
• Tracy Reese
• Donna Karan Collection
• TONYCOHEN
• Monique Lhuillier
• Yeohlee
• HerchcovitchAlexandre
• Perry Ellis
• Elie Tahari
• Monique Péan
• Badgley Mischka
• Vera Wang
• Rosa Cha
• Max Azria
• Bibhu Mohapatra
• Dennis Basso
• Luca Luca
• Sophie Theallet
• Tibi
• Narciso Rodriguez
• Toni Francesc
• Bill Blass
• Tory Burch
• Michael Kors
• Nanette Lepore
• General Idea
• Adrienne Vittadini
• Gottex
• Milly by Michelle Smith
• Odd Molly
• Anna Sui
• Mackage
• Ralph Lauren
• Andy & Debb
• Isaac Mizrahi
• Davidelfin
• Argentina Group Show
• Calvin Klein Collection Women's
• J. Mendel
• Rebecca Moses
• Naeem Khan
• IVANAhelsinki

Among the designers returning from previous seasons of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week or those showing for the first time as part of the lineup include:

• Betsey Johnson
• Bibhu Mohapatra
• Bill Blass
• Buckler
• Cynthia Rowley
• Derek Lam
• Jenny Packham
• L.A.M.B.
• Rosa Cha
• Ruffian
• VERRIER
• Vivienne Tam
• Zang Toi

Opening Day, Thursday, September 9th, will kickoff with Nicholas K in the Studio venue and will also include the Project Runway/Season 8 finale in the Theatre and past Project Runway winner Christian Siriano in the Stage. Former Heatherette guru Richie Rich will close the historic first day with a Studio show.   

A fourth presentation space called the Box will be utilized for designer presentations, industry forums, press conferences and other activities.    

The new venue will boast a number of technical enhancements to adjust with the changing needs of the fashion community including: a more gracious lobby to better accommodate designer guests; modified runway theaters and modular designer spaces that support advanced production capabilities; expanded lighting and digital design resources; new décor and increased venue/runway sizes and enhancements as well as a comprehensive digital upgrade to the event, including a new website, registration, credentialing and seating system, digital signage and various other improvements.    

The city, working with IMG Fashion and Lincoln Center, has embarked on a coordinated effort to ensure Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week takes place in an efficient and organized manner. Led by the citywide Event Coordination and Management Office, city agencies – including the Transportation, Police, Fire, Buildings, Parks and Recreation and Sanitation Departments together with the Mayor's Community Assistance Unit, and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) – are coordinating issues related to pedestrian access, ancillary parking, community resources, traffic flow, and opportunities for local businesses.   

According to IMG, each year, the 232,000 attendees at the two Fashion Weeks generate new economic activity for New York City businesses, accounting for more than $466 million in direct visitor spending and contributing to $1.6 billion in annual tax revenue to the city's fashion industry.

For the businesses surrounding Lincoln Center specifically - the restaurants, hotels, and retailers - as well as the thousands of caterers, security, and service workers staffing the shows, relocating Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will result in economic benefits. More than $40 million annually is spent on meals at local restaurants; nearly $30 million on taxis, car service, and public transportation; and an additional $56 million at area hotels, said IMG.   

Title sponsor Mercedes-Benz is joined by DHL, American Express, Maybelline New York, W Hotels Worldwide, TRESemmé, AOL Inc., ideeli, Cambria Cove, Starbucks Frappuccino Coffee Drink, Kim Crawford Wines, EFFEN Vodka, FIJI Water, as well as the following media outlets The New York Times, Women's Wear Daily, and Getty Images.

Over eight days more than 100,000 guests will pass through the new Lincoln Center tents.

The new location at Lincoln Center provides Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week attendees with convenient transportation and access to the event via subway, buses, taxi and car service.

By subway, the 1 train goes directly to the 66th Street/Lincoln Center Station as well as the 1, A, B, C, D service to the 59th Street/Columbus Circle stop.

By bus, the M5, M7, M10, M11, M66 and M104 lines all stop within one block of the Lincoln Center campus.

Cars can pick up and drop off at the main steps main steps between 63rd and 64th Streets on Columbus Avenue and will have a designated waiting area on 65th Street. In addition, there will be a taxi stand near 62nd Street and Columbus Avenue.    

For more information, please visit: www.mbfashionweek.com

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park

Animation Con Otakon 2010, a Baltimore Fave

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 26 July 2010 22:49

Written by Bree Rubin

Otakon -- one of the largest and longest-running American conventions for Japanese animation and culture -- kicks off festivities in Baltimore Maryland's Inner Harbor, June 30th through August 1st, 2010. Known for its non-stop video screenings, wild costumes, and exclusive international guests, the convention is a highly anticipated event by fans of Japanese entertainment media.

The influence and popularity of Japanese animation and comic books (called manga) has exploded in recent years with the tidal successes of titles like Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and Bakugan. Not just cartoons for children, many of these animated films and franchises, such as the classic action epic Akira or the highly dramatic Second World War epic Grave of the Fireflies, are geared toward and appreciated by adult audiences. You can even get your fix of high-production quality animated pornography, often called hentai.

The name of the convention is a shortening of the Japanese word, otaku (nerd, fanatic) and convention, and is so well-known even world-wide that there is a best-selling Japanese video game with a character also named Otakon. Now in its 17th year, Otakon takes over the entirety of the huge Baltimore Convention Center, packing nearby hotels, restaurants, and sidewalks full of colorful attendees.

Fans often attend the convention (and traipse around the city streets) dressed as characters from their favorite films, games and comic books. The elaborate, eye-catching (and often revealing) costumes, once an oddity to Baltimore locals, are now accepted as a routine parade that marches in once each summer.

Screenings of Japanese movies and television shows are offered around the clock and an enormous dealer's room allows an American audience to purchase media, games, merchandise and Japanese novelty items. There is even a room for up-and-coming visual artists to present their work for admiration or purchase. Multimedia activities and games abound. Oddly enough, the convention has enacted an official vuvuzela ban across the entire convention center.   

The convention welcomes notable guests spanning many genres and media from both home and abroad. One of the most notable of this year's lineup will be Peter S. Beagle, author of classics such as The Last Unicorn, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Director and animator Hiroshi Koujina, also attending, is well-known to anime fans for titles such as Escaflowne: The Movie and Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Avant-garde fashion designer H. Naoto, culture researcher and writer Takamasa Sakurai, animation director Koji Masunari and many other names join the list of Otakon guests. Musical guests include the Japanese ensemble Eminence Symphony Orchestra and a highly-anticipated performance by shamisen duo the Yoshida Brothers.  

Always a fun, if bizarre event celebrating the most pop of Japanese culture, Otakon 2010 is sure to be another success for its fanbase. Weekend-long registration can be purchased for $75 at the door, but expect long lines for which the convention is widely known. For more information and a detailed schedule of events and convention offerings, visit the Otakon website at: www.otakon.com

Otakon 2010
July 30 - Aug 1, 2010
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, MD USA

Envision Offers Doc Primer on Global Education

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 06 July 2010 02:15

Written by Laura Blum

Given the benighted state of primary education from here to Timbuktu, the Independent Filmmaker Project is joining forces with the United Nations Department of Public Information to present the second annual Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries. The day-long forum held at the TimesCenter in New York City (on Saturday, July 10, 2010) will once again use nonfiction cinema to table some of the knotty issues slowing progress on the UN's Millennium Development Goals.

In the spirit of Woody Allen's quote, "If my films make even one more person feel miserable, I'll feel I've done my job," Envision will have been a success if the UN reps, entrepreneurs, activists, journalists, public policy pundits, NGOs and filmmakers expected to attend stagger home in a pall of gloom.

Talking points come from the MDGs, with the quest for universal primary education topping this year's agenda. The huddle takes on a new sense of urgency in view of the MDG deadline of 2015, which leaves only five years to go. Other proposed Goals -- a suite of eight humanitarian benchmarks established in 2000 -- include reducing child mortality, alleviating hunger and producing sustainable energy.

"Filmmakers are key partners for bringing the message of the United Nations to the public," said Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka. As IFP Executive Director Joana Vicente added, "we can leverage documentaries to initiate a larger conversation," especially linking the need for children to complete their primary schooling as a strategy to overcome poverty and war.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte will give the opening keynote address, followed by the first title in Envision's feature double bill, Jennifer Arnolds' A Small Act. It chronicles the impact of an anonymous scholarship on a Kenyan boy, Chris Mburu, who went on to become a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer and head of the anti-discrimination section of the UN Human Rights Agency in Geneva, Switzerland – as well as to create his own scholarship fund. Mburu will participate in the post-screening panel discussion, "Education Obstacles & Solutions in Africa - The Power of One."  

Next up is a panel exploring how citizen media can affect humanitarian issues, "Telling Their Own Stories: The Impact of User-Generated Media and the Individual as Documentarian." Short videos will be woven into the parlay, with discussants from human rights organizations Witness, World Without Walls, Video Volunteers, UNICEF and Breakthrough.

Waiting for Superman, by An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim, bookends the feature showcase. Producer Lesley Chilcott will introduce the film, which investigates the failing US school system and ways to improve it. She will also join a panel introduced by New York Times Foreign Editor Susan Chira, entitled "Education: Re-examing the Old Model and Probing the New."

The full program is posted below:

Envision: Addressing Global Issues Through Documentary 2010

9:00 a.m. - Welcome & Opening Remarks

9:15 a.m. - Keynote Address by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte

9:45 a.m.
Screening:
A Small Act
directed by Jennifer Arnold
(USA 2010, 88 min)
Introduction: Jennifer Arnold
When Hilde Back sponsored the education of a poor Kenyan boy, she thought little of it and never expected to hear from him. But years later she did. That student, Chris Mburu, now a Harvard graduate and UN human rights officer, decides to find the stranger and replicate the generosity he received by founding his own scholarship fund for a new generation. A Small Act bears witness to the lasting effect that one singular act of kindness can have. A 2010 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection. A presentation of HBO Documentary Films.

11:30 a.m.
Education Obstacles and Solutions in Africa - The Power of One
The film A Small Act reveals on a micro level how an individual act of philanthropy can have a profound effect on a child's education and future. How does this translate on a larger scale as a potential solution to education challenges globally? What other methods and programs are in place or being developed to make advances toward the goal of universal education in Africa and other countries in which multiple barriers exist?

Moderator: Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman, United Nations Development Program. Panelists: Chris Mburu, central character in A Small Act and Head of Anti-Discrimination at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; Penny Abeywardena, Senior Manager of Education/Girls and Women, Clinton Global Initiative; Allison Anderson, Scholar, Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution; Michael Gibbons, Education Partnership for Children on Conflict at the Council on Foreign Relations and International Training and Education Program, American University; Heather Simpson, Senior Director, Education and Child Development at Save the Children

2:00 p.m.
Telling Their Own Stories - The Individual as Documentarian and the Impact of User Generated Media
Over the past few years there have been a growing number of programs established by human rights organizations to train and equip individuals around the world with cameras to document and tell stories about the issues affecting their lives and communities. What impact is this having on the issues, the communities, and those individuals who are the storytellers - many of them young people?

Panelists: Karen Cirillo, Executive Producer of Children's Broadcasting Initiatives, UNICEF; Mallika Dutt, Founder and Executive Director, Breakthrough; John Kennedy, Executive Producer, World Without Walls; Jessica Mayberry, Founding Director, Video Volunteers; Ryan Schlief, Asia Program Manager, WITNESS

3:30 p.m.
Waiting for Superman
directed by Davis Guggenheim
(USA 2010, 102 min)
Introduction: producer Lesley Chilcott
From the Academy Award winning director of An Inconvenient Truth comes Waiting for Superman, a provocative and cogent examination of the crisis of public education in the United States told through multiple interlocking stories - from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a dysfunctional system. A Paramount Vantage release. www.waitingforsuperman.com

5:30 p.m.
Public Education - Examining the Old Model and Probing the New
Introduction: New York Times Foreign Editor Susan Chira
Waiting for Superman offers convincing and heartbreaking statistics that characterize the "dropout factories and academic sinkholes" within the US school system, but posits hope for the future. Join some of the real world players and top thinkers examining this landscape in an exciting public discussion.

Moderator: Elizabeth Green, Spencer Fellow in Education Reporting, Columbia University. Panelists: Cindy Brown, Vice President for Education Policy, Center for American Progress; Christopher Cerf, CEO, Sangari Global Education Institute; Lesley Chilcott, Producer, Waiting for Superman; Jason Kamras, Advisor to District of Columbia Dept of Education, 2005 National Teacher of the Year, Nitzan Perlman, Citizen Schools

For more information go to: www.envisionfilm.org.

Envision: Addressing Global Issues through Documentaries
July 10, 2010
The TimesCenter
242 W 41st Street
New York, NY